Delineating multicolored designs on fabric



Marh Z8, 1939,

W. M, TRAINOR DELINEATING MULTICOLORED DESIGNS ON FABRIC Filed June l5, 1937 INVENTOR L ATTORNEY 5 Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED' STATES 'PATENT OFFICE DELINEATING MULTICOLORED DESIGNS Application June 16,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of delineating multi-colored designs on fabric by means of stencils.

More especially the invention relates to the application of such multi-color designs to cut pieces of fabric such as blanks to be made into articles such as aprons, laundry bags, pillow cases, guest towels and the like articles.

Such articles are intended primarily to be embroidered by the retail purchaser with threads corresponding in color to the respectively different color components of the multi-color design delineated thereon and which design is to be outlined by such embroidery.

Heretofore, such designs were outlined on the fabric pieces, as by means of a stencil, in a single color, such as black or blue, and a chart was furnished with each piece as a guide to indicate the preferred or intended color scheme. Later, multiple color outlines were employed, but prior to the present invention the number of colors has been limited and the work has been slow and expensive on account of the methods and apparatus heretofore employed.

For instance, on articles such as aprons, laundry bags and the like, where the sizes are relatively large, difficulty has been experienced in applying the colors and the speed of production has been very limited with attendant relatively high cost. Furthermore, it has only been found practical heretofore to utilize a maximum of three colors. In such articles the retail sales price is low and since the designs are applied to the blanks individually by repeated operations, rapidity of production is an important item.

An object of the invention is to provide a method of and apparatus for applying to pieces of fabric multi-colored designs comprising as many component colors as desired.

A further object is to provide a method of and apparatus for applying such designs to large pieces of fabric in an improved and efficient manner and at an increased speed, with equal or better registration of the individual colors.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will more clearly appear from the detailed description given below taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which forms a part of the specification.

The invention consists in the method herein described and in the novel features, arrangement, construction and combination of parts of the apparatus and means hereinafter described in accordance With certain preferred embodiments 1937, Serial No. 148,443

thereof, and the invention will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Further objects of the invention will more fully appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating by way of example the preferred embodiment of the apparatus used in carrying out the method.

In the accompanying drawing, showing by way of example a present preferred embodiment of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the apparatus,

Fig. 2 is a side View, in elevation, of the apparatus of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View, inelevation, taken at 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing: I is a. table comprising a top 2 and suitable legs such as 3. The table top is preferably .provided with an upper surface such as a rubber composition, felt or cloth pad or the like to prevent pieces of cut fabric or blanks placed thereon from readily slipping or becoming displaced during operation and further to provide a slight resiliency. In the present embodiment, a table top of the order of 81/2 feet square has been found satisfactory in the production of articles of the size of womens aprons, laundry bags, pillow covers and the like.

Positioned above the table I is a stencil carrier or frame 4, which in the present embodiment is square in form and comprises four panels for the accommodation of alike number of stencils; permitting, in this instance, the utilization of four colors in the design. This frame is carried on the upper end of a shaft or axle 5 to which it is rigidly attached at its central point. The shaft passes through a bearing 6 positioned at the cen- ;ter of the table and extends downwardly, passing through a bore in a suitable pedestal 1, and terminating in a rounded end 8 which rests on the inner end of a lever 9. The lever 9 is supported on a fulcrum base I0 as by means of a pin II and is provided with an outer end I2 in the form of a treadle for engagement by the operators foot. An adjustable Weight I3 is positioned so as to substantially balance the frame 4' and parts carried thereby but permits the frame and attached parts to move downwardly by gravity when the treadle is released.

The pedestal 1 is provided at its upper end with four equidistantly circumferentially spaced vertical slots, such as I 4. These slots are arranged in pairs, each pair being diametrically positioned relative to the shaft 5, and the slots are each provided with a gradually widened iiar- 55 ing upper portion. A pin I 5 extends transversely through the axis of the shaft 5 and is of a size to snugly engage the vertical side walls of the slots It; the aring or round upper ends of the slcts serving to center or guide the pin` into the slots when the shaft 5 is lowered, so that the respectively opposite ends of the pin I5 will engage the corresponding diametrically opposite slots I4. The relative position and arrangement of the parts is such that when the shaft is in its lowermost position the pin serves to hold the shaft in ay definite fixed angular' relation, and when the shaft 5 is raised to the dotted position indicated the pin is positioned above the upper extremities of the pedestal portions intermediate the slots I4 to thereby permit angular movement of the shaft 5 about its axis.

In' the present design illustrated, four colors are employed and the design is therefore to be applied by means of four stencil sheets each beaning a complementary increment of the design through which the respectively corresponding co1- or of that increment of the design is to be applied to the fabric positioned on the upper surface of the table I. These stencils are made in a manner well known to those skilled in the art and usually are formed of a relatively thin parchment or stencil paper, which is perforated in outline corresponding to the desired configuration of the design. These four stencil sheets are respectively designated in Fig. l as I6, I'I, I8 and I9; the stencil sheet I Ii bearing the complementary design increment or stem 29 which is to be outlined in brown on the fabric, the stencil sheet I1 bearing the complementary design increment or petal unit 2I which is to be outlined in blue on the fabric, the stencil sheet I3 bearing the completary design increment or leaves such as 22 which are to be outlined in green on the fabric, and the stencil sheet I9 Abearing the complementary design increment or pistils 23 which are to be outlined in red on the fabric. The four stencil sheets are supported and positioned in proper register on the frame 4; in the present illustrated apparatus this registration has been satisfactorily effected and the stencils attached in the following manner.

Starting with the stencil I6, which position in the drawing will be designated as station A, the complete design of the flower comprising the increments 20, 2 I, 22 and 23 is secured to the table I and properly centered within the panel of the frame at that station. The stencil sheet I6 is then placed over the complete design so as to be in accurate register with the corresponding increment thereof and the sheet is secured to the frame in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3, i, e. one edge of the sheet is passed underneath the radially extending rib of the frame 4 at the left hand of this position and is secured to the frame 4 by suitable means such as thumb tacks 24, which permit an easy means of'adjusting the registration of the increment 20 with the master design; while the opposite or outer edge of the stencil sheet is passed around the marginal side of frame 4 and suitably secured thereto, as by means of spring clamps such as 25. After the stencil is thus secured in registered position, the inner edge is preferably clamped tightly in position as by means of clamping strips 26--21 and cooperating C clamps 28-29.

It is particularly noted that the stencil sheet is secured to the frame at two opposite edges only, since I have found that in the apparatus illustrated, and especially in utilizing stencils of large area made of relatively thin material such as paperv or the like, the stencil tends to wrinkle, when used, if attached to the frame at each of its edges; and I have found that when secured in register by being held along two respectively opposite edges and by applying the color medium in a direction from one to the other of said attached edges, excellent results are obtained.

When the stencil I5 has been secured in registered position, the treadle I2 is depressed to raise the frame I to the upper position indicated by dot and dash lines (Fig. 2) and the frame rotated in a clockwise direction approximately 90, then the treadle pressure is released to lower the frame so that the second panel is placed in xed position at station A and over the master design; the slots le and pin I5 serving to accurately center the frame. In order to avoid any possible displacement of the outer portions of the frame, due to its large size, I have also provided means for accurately and rigidly locking the frame adjacent its outer margin, such as by means of L brackets-'55, one of which is attached to the frame at each corner, and a pin 3| which is inserted through a hole in said bracket and into a cooperating hole in the table top 2 in accurate registration therewith when said frame is in proper position. y

With the frame thus fixed in position, the stencil I7 is secured to the frame in the manner previously described relative to stencil I6, so that the design increment 2| is properly registered with the corresponding portion of the master design. The pin 3l is then removed and the stencils I8 and 23 are similarly secured to the frame in proper register with the master design carried on the table I.

It will thus be seen that the four stencils I6, I'I, I8 and I9 are secured to the frame 4 in predetermined register about the axis of the shaft 5 as a focal center and in spaced relation to each other around said focal center. The increment 2U corresponds to that portion of the complete design to be colored in one color, say brown, and similarly the other increments 2 I, 22 and 23 to the respective portions of the complete design to be colored, say, blue, green and red.

M etlhod While the method may be carried out by applying or delineating the multi-colored design on a single piece of fabric at a time by applying the respective individual increments successively to a single piece of fabric until the design is completed, one of the advantages of the present invention resides in the ability to operate upon a plurality of pieces of fabric simultaneously in a number equal to the number of colors utilized, in the present embodiment four; and accordingly, this more rapid production will be described.

In operating upon only one piece of fabric at a time, one person only is needed to carry out the process, while in operating upon a plurality of pieces of fabric at a time it has been found advantageous to have a plurality of persons each handling one of the individual colors, and this is particularly true in handling relatively large sized fabric pieces as previously referred to.

With the stencils arranged in registration series as previously described, and with the stencils held above the supporting means such as table I for the fabric, the pieces of fabric are spread out on the table in a group around the focal axis of registration of the stencils and spaced thereabout corresponding in general to the spacing of the stencils, i. e., in the position shown in Fig. 1 there will be one piece of fabric at station A, one at station B, one at station C, and one at station D. The four stencils are then simultaneously lowered and each of the stencils brought into respective registration with its corresponding piece of fabric and the stencils held in this position as by means of the slots I4 and pin I5 and the brackets 30 and pins 3l, previously described. The pieces of fabric at stations A and D are designated in Fig. 2 as f. An operator at station A wipes a suitable color medium, such as a brown pigmented fluid of a suitable thickness, across the stencil increment 2li in a direction from the left to the right or right to left so as to cause the brown fluid to pass through the perforations of the stencil onto the piece of fabric against which the lower face of the stencil rests. A simple rubber strip held in a wooden handle has been found satisfactory fcr wiping colors on the stencils so as to print the design on the fabric. Simultaneously, a second operator at station B forces a blue fluid through the stencil Il by wiping in a direction from the bottom toward the top or from the top toward the bottom to thereby print the increment on the fabric at that station, and at the same time operators at stations C and D similarly apply the respective colors green and red so as to print the stencil increments 22 and 23 upon the fabric pieces at those respective stations; the colors always being applied in a. direction between the attached ends of the stencils. We have now one increment of color applied to each of th-e four pieces of fabric. The four stencils are now simultaneously raised from contact with the fabric pieces, in a vertical direction to prevent smearing (and the stencils are simultaneously rotated about the axis of shaft 5 for approximately 90) and are simultaneously lowered into exact registration respectively with the pieces of fabric, each stencil now being in register with the immediately succeeding piece of fabric of the spaced-apart series. For example, the operator at station A now applies the increment design 2l to his piece of fabric, the operator at station B applies the increment 22 to his piece of fabric, the operator at station C applies the increment 23 to his piece of fabric, and the operator at station D applies the increment 20 to his piece of fabric-eac'n operator utilizing the color fluid corresponding to the increment which he applies at a given time. The process is repeated until the four colors have been applied to each of the four pieces of fabric, whereupon the stencils are lifted and the four completed fabric pieces removed and the process repeated. After repeated use of the stencils, there is a tendency for the fluid colors to gradually build up and become hardened, but as is well understood by those skilled in the art this may be remedied by suitable cleansing of the stencils with a solvent. As an example of a fluid color medium I might mention the use of pigment ground in oil and mixed with lard or the like to the desired consistency for the particular type of work in hand; and with this type of color medium I have found kerosene a suitable solvent to clean the stencils if necessary.

The invention contemplates a plurality of colors in excess of or less than the number of four hereinabove referred to. In using colors in excess of four, the supporting means for the stencils is correspondingly adapted to carry the number of stencils desired in a series about a cornmon axis in the manner heretofore described. For example, instead of a square frame a circular frame having the general form of a cartwheel could be utilized, wherein the circle would be divided into a number of equal segments corresponding to the number of colors desired tobe utilized.

Having thus described my invention with particularity with reference to the preferred method of carrying out the same and in connection with the preferred apparatus for carrying out the same, and having referred to some of the possible modifications thereof, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art, after understanding my invention, that other changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I aim in the appended claims to cover such changes and modifications as are within the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. In a device for delineating a multi-colored design on fabric, the combination of a substantially horizontal table for supporting a fabric to which said multi-colored design is to be applied, a substantially horizontal frame for carrying in substantial parallelism therewith a plurality of stencils bearing respective individual complementary increments of said design, said table and frame being relatively movable one with respect to the other in an angular direction about a substantially vertical axis coincident with a focal registration point for said increments of design and said frame being movable toward and away from said table in a direction substantially parallel to said axis, said frame having a plurality of substantially radially extending arms between respective of which and relatively opposite frame portions said stencils are held, said frame being so constructed and arranged that one corresponding side of each stencil is attached to its respective arm and an adjoining side of each stencil throughout a major portion of its length lies contiguous to an adjacent arm to which another of said stencils is attached and means for guiding said frame in its angular and reciprocal movements respectively about and along said axis.

2. In a device for delineating a multi-colored design on fabric, the combination of a substantially horizontal table for supporting a fabric to which said multi-colored design is to be applied, a substantially horizontal frame positioned above and in substantial parallel relationship to said table and pivotally supported for movement about a substantialiy vertical axis, said frame pro-- viding means for carrying on the lower side thereof a plurality of stencils bearing respectively complementary increments of design equidistant i in a radial direction from said axis as a common focal point of registration and spaced circumferentially relative to each other about said pivot point, said frame having a plurality of substantially radially extending arms between respective of which andrelatively opposite frame portions said stencils are held, said frame being so constructed and arranged that one corresponding side of each stencil is attached to its respective arm and an adjoining side of each stencil throughout a major portion of its length lies contiguous to an adjacent arm to which another of said stencils is attached means operable to substantially vertically raise said frame away from and lower said frame adjacent to said table,

and means for holding said frame against rotation while in its lowered position.

3. The method of delineating a multi-colored design on pieces of fabric or the like which comprises supporting a plurality of pieces of said fabric in a substantially circular series in spacedapart relation and substantially concentric to a focal axis, supporting a like plurality of stencils each bearing a complementary increment of the desired design above said surface and in spaced relation to said fabric with the respective stencils each held in fixed register with respect to each other and about said'focal axis and all lying in a substantially horidontal plane, said stencils being grouped with two adjoining sides of each throughout the major length ofV said sides lying contiguous respectively to one side each of two respectively adjacent stencils simultaneously angularly moving said stencils about said axis while holding said stencils in spaced parallel relation to said fabric, successively bringing said individual stencils simultaneously into registered engagement with respective of said fabric pieces while said angular movement is suspended and simultaneously applying colored fluid media through said respective stencils onto said fabric pieces while said individual increments of design are respectively held in fixed register with said fabric pieces.

4. In a device for delineating a multi-colored design on fabric, the combination of means for supporting said fabric in substantially flat condition, means for supporting a plurality of stencils each being a complementary increment of the desired design in substantial parallelism with said surface with the respective stencils each held along two opposite edges only and ln xed register with respect to each other about a common axis extending substantially normal to said fabric-supporting means, said stencil supporting means having a plurality of substantially radially extending arms between respective of which and relatively opposite frame portions said stencils are held, said supporting means being so constructed and arranged that one corresponding side of each stencil is attached to its respective arm and an adjoining side of each stencil throughout a major portion of its length lies contiguous to anadjacent arm to which another stencil is attached, means for holding said stencil support in raised position above said fabric support and guiding said support in angular movement about said axis and for moving said stencil support along said axis toward and away from said fabric support, whereby lsaid stencils may be supported free from engagement with said fabric while simultaneously moved in an angular direction to bring respective stencils into registered position and may be simultaneously moved in a direction parallel to said axis to bring respective stencils into registered engagement with said fabric after said angular movement has been completed.

5. In a device for delineating a multi-colored design on fabric, the combination of substantially horizontal means for supporting the fabric onto which said multi-colored design is to be applied, a substantially horizontal stencil supporting frame positioned over said fabric-supporting means and movable angularly relative to and in a `direction normal to said fabric-supporting means, said frame having a plurality of substantially radially extending arms and relatively oppositely disposed corresponding frame portions spaced therefrom, a plurality of stencils carried by said frame and respectively bearing individual complementary increments of said design, said stencils being arranged in a series substantially parallel to said frame and secured to respective arms and said relatively opposite frame portions, said frame being so constructed and arranged that one corresponding side of each stencil carried thereby is attached to its respective arm and an adjoining free side of each stencil throughout a major portion of its length lies contiguous to an adjacent arm to which another stencil is attached, and means for guiding said stencil frame in angular movement about said axis and in reciprocal substantially vertical movement along said axis toward and away from said fabric-supporting means.

6. In a device for delineating a multi-colored design on fabric, the combination of means for supporting a plurality of pieces of fabric onto each 0f which said multi-colored design is to be applied, stencil supporting means positioned over and substantially parallel to said fabric-supporting means and movable angularly relative to and in a direction normal to said fabric-supporting means, a plurality of stencils equal in number to said pieces of fabric and carried by said last means in substantial parallelism therewith and respectively bearing individual complementary increments of said design, said stencils being secured in predetermined register about an axis common to said design and which extends substantially normal to said stencil supporting means, said stencil carrying means having a plurality of Substantially radially extending arms between respective of which and reatively opposite frame portions said stencils are held, said stencil carrying means being so constructed and arranged that one corresponding side of each stencil is attached to its respective arm and an adjoining side of each stencil throughout a maior portion of its length lies contiguous to an adjacent arm to which another of said stencils is attached, said stencil carrying means serving to simultaneously move said stencil about its axis and to individually bring respective increments of said design simultaneously into successive predetermined register with said pieces of fabric, and means for guiding saidstencil supporting means in angular movement about said axis and in reciprocal movement along said axis.

WILLIAM M. TRAINOR. 

